CRITICAL MASS

This cd along with "Hypothetical" and "Subsurface" are full of crunchy riffs, catchy choruses and are instantly likeable. That is my problem with them. Yes I like all 3 albums a lot, but for me they are too polished, cliche and after many listens I like them less. And the one ballad that seems to have to be on each of them make me gag. I hate to be critical because I love heavy riffs, but sometimes you can get too much of a good thing. I prefer their earlier releases that are raw and less polished. Lets put it this way, this record could use a little salt. Anyway that was me trying to justify giving this a 3.5 rating.

"Phenomenon" is one of my top 3 favourite songs on here. I like the background synths as the heavy riffs come in. There are heavy drums throughout this tune. The chorus is uplifting the way the vocals almost soar. Nice guitar solo over the riffs 4 minutes in. "Choices" opens with some great sounding guitar.The drums are so crisp. This song has more solos on it than any other track on this album. That alone makes it one of the highlights on this album for me. "Falling Away" opens like a power ballad with drums, vocals and synths leading the way in the mellow sections. Mournful guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. It's ok but too much like a ballad for my tastes. "Fragmentation" is another top 3 track for me. It opens with synths and drums as heavy guitars come in. The riffs stop when the vocals come in. They're back ! Themes are repeated. The riffs sound so good on this one. Great tune.

"Echoes Of Life" opens with piano as reserved vocals and light drums come in. The song kicks into a higher gear 2 minutes in. A ripping solo after 4 minutes. "Round And Round" opens with gentle guitar that is replaced by a heavy sound with synths. Reserved vocals become more passionate fairly quickly. Contrast continues.The guitar winds out after 3 1/2 minutes. This one is powerful at times. "Avalon" is a ballad with piano throughout. "Critical Mass (part 1-3)" is also a top 3 song for me. It opens with what sounds like mellotron. We get a power surge before 2 minutes. Drums are relentless and the background synths are a nice touch again. Keys are swirling about as riffs come in. My favourite passage on the album is 7 minutes in where we get a PINK FLOYD flavour with organ. The guitar is amazing ! It goes on and on. A mellow ending with strummed guitar and vocals.

Good album that most people rate very highly. I feel the same way about the last few ENCHANT albums as I do with the last few from THRESHOLD(up to "Subsurface"). Give me something rougher and darker like IN THE WOODS...